LGBTQ news and entertainment
MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts counts down the Top 5 LGBT stories of the week.
In this week’s LGBT wrap-up, attackers in Philly gay assault turn themselves in, anti-gay legislation lowers same-sex income, and more.
MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts introduced a new web-only segment for his “Way Too Early” show which counts down the week’s biggest LGBT stories.
Kinda like The Randy Report.
Only with video.
And with a better looking host.
Via Mediaite – CNN’s Don Lemon ended OutFront on Monday night by talking about Robin Roberts coming out and why it’s important for other famous people to publicly come out too. Lemon said, “Do people really need to do it anymore? The answer is yes.”
He spoke of his own struggles coming out to people close to him, and then coming out publicly years later, saying he was fearful at how the news would be received by viewers and others.
Lemon said he was “afraid of people like Phil Robertson who claim to love everyone while simultaneously thinking that everyone’s love is unequal.”
I’m thankful we have public figures like Don Lemon, Robin Roberts and Thomas Roberts to be out front and public with who they are both professionally and personally.
Great way to end the year knowing folks like this represent me in some way.
Forward.
LGBT organizations All Out and Athlete Ally have partnered with American Apparel in the creation of Principle 6, a new line of merchandise that aims to use the Olympic committee’s very own charter language as a way for consumers to stand in solidarity with gay Russians, athletes, and visitors during the upcoming Sochi Games.
Principle 6 is a way for athletes, spectators, and global supporters to celebrate the Olympic principle of non-discrimination and call for an end to Russia’s anti-gay laws before the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
Hudson Taylor of Athlete Ally and Andre Banks of All Out joined MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts to talk about the partnership and goals of the campaign.
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| Thomas Roberts on the Miss Universe Pageant Red Carpet with husband Patrick Abner |
Speaking on the red carpet of the Miss Universe Pageant in Russia before his hosting duties, MSNBC News anchor Thomas Roberts addressed the anti-gay laws and legislation taking place in Russia:
“I know the law is very vague and still hard to interpret for many people,” Roberts stated. “But it is discrimination and that’s definitive. And I don’t think that the LGBT population in Russia or anywhere should be marginalized to that degree. We are not asking for special protection. We’re just asking for equal respect.”
Lynda Carter stops by to chat with Thomas Roberts on the state of politics, a new campaign to fight hunger called “We Can Be Heroes” and living the legacy of “Wonder Woman.”
I love both Lynda and Thomas! What a great segment.
She will always be a Wonder Woman, and not just because of a role she played.
Thomas Roberts sat down with the Advocate to talk about his recently announced assignment to head to Russia to host the Miss Universe Pageant.
Some folks have been critical of Roberts taking on the task, saying he should instead boycott the event in solidarity with our Russian LGBT community now under siege by anti-gay laws being passed.
In response to the criticism, Robert wrote a thoughtful op-ed piece for MSNBC, and is now discussing why he made the decision to not boycott and host the pageant so that Russia and the world could see a successful, gainfully employed, confident gay man on the world stage.
Here’s just a bit of his exchange with Advocate:
What was the response of Russian LGBT activists that you reached out to?
I was told: don’t boycott. I was told that this is too big of an opportunity, and that voices like theirs need representation. So, what they want is, while they don’t feel safe, they want influential people to come in, and speak out. Not only can I speak out ahead of time, before going, but I also have a great capacity to cover and storytell. So, that’s why this assignment was so attractive to me.
Read the entire interview by visiting the Advocate here.
Talking Points Memo points up a heated interview today by Thomas Roberts and the RNC Chairman Reince Priebus.
Priebus spent much of his air time decrying Obamacare saying no one in America wanted or had signed up for the new insurance exchanges. Roberts followed up with a line of questions wondering why the government has to be shut down for the House GOP to deal with making any fixes they want to Obamacare.
“Why do we need to attach the solutions or changes that go along with the law that has been vetted by the Supreme Court, by a mandate by the people reelecting the president and both houses of Congress,” Roberts asked. “Why should that be attached to to shutting down the government and as the president is saying basically writing a ransom note and asking for some type of goody bag in response for Congress doing its job to govern?”
“Those are some pretty good talking points,” the RNC chair shot back. “Let me just rewind.”
“They’re not talking points,” Roberts interjected, referring to a speech Obama gave in Maryland moments before the exchange. “That’s directly from what the president just gave us.”
“I think you should apply for a job in the Obama administration,” Priebus said later, after several minutes of sparring with the MSNBC host.
“No, I’ll come work for you guys and help you sort out what’s going on because your message is befuddled,” Roberts said.
Good for Thomas Roberts for pursuing the answers to his questions.You can watch the exchange below:
Openly gay MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts appeared on “Morning Joe” talk-show to discuss current news cycle items and among them was marriage equality. In the discussion of the Republican National Committee’s continued opposition to same-sex marriage in the party platform, Roberts discussed his own personal experience with the Republican leadership that seemed to him at odds with their publicly stated political beliefs:
“Reince Priebus, when I got engaged, congratulated me at the White House Correspondents’ weekend. Last year, Sean Spicer congratulated me on getting married to my husband. Yet they incorporate into the platform of the RNC their stance against marriage equality,” Roberts said.
“It’s odd, because why congratulate me? I didn’t bring it up, I didn’t say give me a congratulations, but they offered it,” Roberts said. “So it’s odd, because then they’ll go out and drumbeat that they’re against marriage equality. It’s weird.”
In an email to Politico RNC Communications Director Sean Spicer clarified his position:
“Believing marriage is between one man and one woman and being polite, courteous and respectful are not mutually exclusive.”
I’ve personally experienced similar exchanges with friends whose politics run more conservative than mine. They congratulate Michael and me for 19 years together, on getting married, but still go vote against issues like marriage equality, as if they disconnect the real-life encounter with me from the politics they practice.
As Thomas says, it’s odd.
(source)
I hate to even share this because I like Thomas Roberts a lot. But it really just goes to prove that he’s human like everyone else and he was just saying what he thought.
Roberts did make an on-air apology for his language later in the broadcast.